Welcome to Louisiana's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. This program was established by Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 ("The Act"), as amended {42 USC 5301, et seq.}. The regulations that govern this program can be found at24 CFR Part 570, Subpart I. TheState Administered CDBG Program is funded through the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development {HUD}.

Subsequent legislation - Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 authorized States to administer the CDBG Program for smaller cities and counties/parishes. In 1982, Louisiana's Executive Branch and Legislature agreed that the State should administer the program and later assigned this responsibility to the Division of Administration.

CDBG is comprised of two distinct programs: (1) the "Entitlement Program" which provides formula-allocated funding to metropolitan cities with populations over 50,000 and to qualified urban parishes/counties with non-metropolitan populations over 200,000; and (2) the "Non-entitlement" or "States and Small Cities Program" which provides federal funds directly to States which, in turn, provide funds on a competitive and as-needed basis to small, non-metropolitan cities with populations less than 50,000, and to parishes/counties that are not eligible for entitlement status; i.e., parishes with a non-urban or unincorporated population of less than 200,000.

According to statute, the primary federal objective of the CDBG Program is the development of viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. Persons of low and moderate income are defined as families, households, and individuals whose incomes do not exceed 80 percent of the parish median income, with adjustments for family or household size.